"Blame it all on Denise" feels like it might be a Pearl strategy.
However, We At C.A.I. Believe in Second Chances - Let's Play Miss Management!
Episode 23: Gameplay Update, "Boys Just Wanna Have Fun"
Video:
Well, Ashley's decided that since Luke's gone, she needs to pick up the slack of being an obstacle.
And to that end, she's created a dilemma later on in the Episode as to how to properly optimize things. Heck, there's already one NOW. Which Optional Goals to unlock first, when to do them, exactly what snacks to use and when...
To let you know, we'll be making the hard choice of ignoring Pearl's orders on Day 1 to get as much time logged into Ashley's Water Cooler Goal with Denise as possible. Those Diet Sodas will be AMAZING for that.
Nothing special here, not even Mahavir's starting stress.
This'll be our position for most of the day. Pearl gets particularly annoyed with Ashley's chatterbox tendencies today, so she'll be in the lounge.
And now that Tasks are coming in, we can go grab the finest in diet carbonated beverages, at least to Denise.
There we go. There's a VERY good reason this Episode starts with $8 of petty cash instead of the usual $6.
Eat it, Pearl.
Perhaps to no one's surprise, considering the icon, there's code to suggest the Diet Soda was an Energy Drink at some point. ...well, the Brownie was an Energy Drink, with a Super Energy Drink variant, but they were still really, really bad as Stress reducers for Denise.
With that out of the way, we can get back to Ashley somehow spending nearly an entire day's worth of time talking about shoes. Also, we'll have Mahavir chip that Art Task down for Winston. It's times like this where I'm glad the AC exists to send Employees to. ...oh right, speaking of which, I turned that on to keep Winston from Burning Out from all this work. Lets us avoid having to do upkeep on Nadine's Stress as well.
Yeah, I think I'll just keep Mahavir there for as long as I need to. Might as well, I can't send him to his Couch today anyway. ...though I don't demonstrate it here, you CAN actually send Mahavir and Winston to their respective spots as long as you command them to walk somewhere else before they get there. It won't count as them playing or sleeping, to keep the Goal from being completely screwed over from a lapse in memory or a misclick. It's a bit of QoL I very much appreciate.
And now for another round of Tasks, this time with a COFFEE
How many more demonstrations do we need of Winston's overwhelming power, do you think?
Well, the Day's nearly over and Winston's already done the number of Tasks I need him to do before Day 2, we might as well just get as much time with Ashley as is physically possible.
Sadly, that's not gonna be very much time. Ah well.
There we go, end of the day. Not a half bad job on the Water Cooler Goal, to be honest.
Well, her hangups have been entertained sufficiently now. Woo.
...huh. That Goal looks rather familiar, doesn't it?
Yyyyyyup, Ashley wants to talk with even more people today. And unlike back in Season 3, there's no freebies; every last person she wants to talk with will get Stressed, besides Denise.
For today, we'll mostly be tackling Ashley's Water Cooler Goals with a dash of Mahavir's nap, but we won't be completing any of them besides Winston's Task Goal. You'll see why on Day 3.
Goal reminders, and we're on our way.
Initial Goal positions. Nadine will be in dire need of the AC in a moment, and we're logging some time on the Couch while we can.
Unfortunately, we can't have Mahavir on the Couch anymore since Nadine gets particularly stressed by him today, as well as Ashley. Even with the AC, she's in this state. Oof.
Well, that's just about enough. I distribute the Tasks while Nadine gets dangerously close to a Burn Out.
Since Nadine will be busy getting relaxed in the Lounge, we might as well have Denise humor Ashley for a while. Ashley'll need the extra Stress reduction, anyway; she gets negative Moodifiers for talking to people today, with the strongest being Denise at -3 on top of the Water Cooler's usual -2.
Now that Nadine's fully relaxed, we can send her back to Ashley. The AC's pulling double duty; we need it for both Nadine and Winston, since while those Goals need work, SOMEONE needs to actually do the work, especially with a Task Goal.
I was gonna shuffle those Art Tasks over to Winston, but, uhhhh...
...so many Financial Tasks came in at once that I didn't need them at all. Ah well, some good luck for once.
Did you think we were done with Ashley's jabberjaw? THINK AGAIN.
I dunno what I was thinking here, but I sent Pearl over when she was still stressed from all the air conditioning and Water Cooler talks. Let's turn it off and calm her down, shall we?
There we go. Some extra Couch time as well as enough room in everyone's Stress meters to reach the end of the Day.
You might notice that I didn't finish Ashley's Goal with Nadine. That was on purpose. Remember it for Day 3, okie?
It's kinda humorous that the three being a bother this Episode are the ones who are getting all bent out of shape, for once.
Anyways, that was an entire Day without Coffee, Sodas, or Cinnabuns. That will not be the case tomorrow, Pearl, so prepare your headache meds.
It was basically inevitable that there'd be an Arcade Machine Goal to work towards, let's be real.
Now, then... today's gonna be crunch time. This is where the vast majority of runs of this Episode get messed up, and your success will largely depend on your preparations up until now. It's time to see if we did enough to scrape by.
Pictured: The Tower of Babble
The opener in particular is gonna be rough. We'll need to get Pearl's duties at the Water Cooler out of the way so Winston can go play, and quickly. Mahavir will be prepping a Morale Boost in the meantime.
'Kay then, this office is about to explode, so we need Mahavir back at his desk. That's close enough to completion that we can make good use of it, anyway.
Now that this first Morale Boost has taken effect, we can send Winston to the Arcade Machine, just in time. Just 7 or 8 Seconds longer, and we'd have been screwed.
We get Nadine's Goal done, too, earning ourselves yet another Morale Boost.
Next, we get Denise's Goal for yet another. See why we were saving all of those? We really need the office's Stress to be mostly reset aside from Pearl, and Ashley will be camping out in the Bathroom for the rest of the Day. It's just advanced Stress management.
In the process of grabbing another Morale Boost from Mahavir, I get to show off exactly how rough the Moodifiers are on Ashley this Episode, give or take some work and a smoker.
No Idle bonus, +2 from work, +3 each from the Couch and Arcade, +2 from Smoke... that's a solid +10 Moodifier right there, god.
Like I said, Ashley's gonna need to stay in there the whole time if she wants to survive the Day. Also, I went and got a Diet Soda and 4 Cinnabuns for upcoming reasons.
There we go, that's a bit less Stress Ashley will have to deal with. Now, about those Cinnabuns...
Mahavir wants four of them. Four of these gigantic whoppers of icing and cinnamon. Yeesh, it really is "Feed your bathroom scale" instead of whatever else he was going on about about a cold.
Required Goals? Invalid, ALL Goals are Required for our purposes
Oh right, try to keep at least one eye on the state of the Bathroom. If you forget to send Ashley back immediately, she might spiral out of control before she can reach it.
We don't wind up needing that Diet Soda due to the extra time we have, but hey, another case of better safe than sorry.
It's a good thing we got all of Nadine's stressors out of the way; Mahavir physically can't keep up with this amount of work, regardless of his Stress gained.
And there we have it. All in 3 Days, once again.
This took a number of practices in the 8-10 range, and 4 recording attempts. This was, without a doubt, the hardest Episode we've had since the finale of Season 2, and it's nice to see it picking up again.
Next time... well, it might be a bit short, but I'm sure it'll get the point across. See you then.
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
Connecting...
Checking Status: Online
Chatroom Created
I've got good news for you.
Everything's ready?
All organized and accounted for... including the lack thereof. They finished just last night.
Get that sent to me ASAP. I've been stuck in one place for far too long on this.
Got it. So, what happens now?
You get ready. Do what we discussed last time.
All of it?
Down to the last detail. Anything that can go wrong needs a way to be shut down here. I've seen enough of this mismanagement to last a lifetime.
Ha, then I guess there's not much to worry about for now. Think I'll finally get to learn the plan?
Maybe. Part of it, at least. One thing's for certain, though; after the performance I just witnessed, there's no doubt that Denise is ready. I'll be relying on you two going forward.
'Kay, then... I'll do what I can afterward, then. Whatever that is.
That's all you need to do, no matter what I wind up doing. That enough of a guide for you?
We'll see. ...though, will we need this thing anymore?
This may be the last time we talk on here, yeah. Keep it open, at least; no use burning that bridge just yet.
Okay. I'll see you soon, then?
Yeah, just... well, you'll see. Until next time.
Until then.
Chatroom Closed.
Video:Well, Ashley's decided that since Luke's gone, she needs to pick up the slack of being an obstacle.
And to that end, she's created a dilemma later on in the Episode as to how to properly optimize things. Heck, there's already one NOW. Which Optional Goals to unlock first, when to do them, exactly what snacks to use and when...
To let you know, we'll be making the hard choice of ignoring Pearl's orders on Day 1 to get as much time logged into Ashley's Water Cooler Goal with Denise as possible. Those Diet Sodas will be AMAZING for that.
Nothing special here, not even Mahavir's starting stress.
This'll be our position for most of the day. Pearl gets particularly annoyed with Ashley's chatterbox tendencies today, so she'll be in the lounge.
And now that Tasks are coming in, we can go grab the finest in diet carbonated beverages, at least to Denise.
There we go. There's a VERY good reason this Episode starts with $8 of petty cash instead of the usual $6.
Eat it, Pearl.
Perhaps to no one's surprise, considering the icon, there's code to suggest the Diet Soda was an Energy Drink at some point. ...well, the Brownie was an Energy Drink, with a Super Energy Drink variant, but they were still really, really bad as Stress reducers for Denise.
With that out of the way, we can get back to Ashley somehow spending nearly an entire day's worth of time talking about shoes. Also, we'll have Mahavir chip that Art Task down for Winston. It's times like this where I'm glad the AC exists to send Employees to. ...oh right, speaking of which, I turned that on to keep Winston from Burning Out from all this work. Lets us avoid having to do upkeep on Nadine's Stress as well.
Yeah, I think I'll just keep Mahavir there for as long as I need to. Might as well, I can't send him to his Couch today anyway. ...though I don't demonstrate it here, you CAN actually send Mahavir and Winston to their respective spots as long as you command them to walk somewhere else before they get there. It won't count as them playing or sleeping, to keep the Goal from being completely screwed over from a lapse in memory or a misclick. It's a bit of QoL I very much appreciate.
And now for another round of Tasks, this time with a COFFEE
How many more demonstrations do we need of Winston's overwhelming power, do you think?
Well, the Day's nearly over and Winston's already done the number of Tasks I need him to do before Day 2, we might as well just get as much time with Ashley as is physically possible.
Sadly, that's not gonna be very much time. Ah well.
There we go, end of the day. Not a half bad job on the Water Cooler Goal, to be honest.
Well, her hangups have been entertained sufficiently now. Woo.
...huh. That Goal looks rather familiar, doesn't it?
Yyyyyyup, Ashley wants to talk with even more people today. And unlike back in Season 3, there's no freebies; every last person she wants to talk with will get Stressed, besides Denise.
For today, we'll mostly be tackling Ashley's Water Cooler Goals with a dash of Mahavir's nap, but we won't be completing any of them besides Winston's Task Goal. You'll see why on Day 3.
Goal reminders, and we're on our way.
Initial Goal positions. Nadine will be in dire need of the AC in a moment, and we're logging some time on the Couch while we can.
Unfortunately, we can't have Mahavir on the Couch anymore since Nadine gets particularly stressed by him today, as well as Ashley. Even with the AC, she's in this state. Oof.
Well, that's just about enough. I distribute the Tasks while Nadine gets dangerously close to a Burn Out.
Since Nadine will be busy getting relaxed in the Lounge, we might as well have Denise humor Ashley for a while. Ashley'll need the extra Stress reduction, anyway; she gets negative Moodifiers for talking to people today, with the strongest being Denise at -3 on top of the Water Cooler's usual -2.
Now that Nadine's fully relaxed, we can send her back to Ashley. The AC's pulling double duty; we need it for both Nadine and Winston, since while those Goals need work, SOMEONE needs to actually do the work, especially with a Task Goal.
I was gonna shuffle those Art Tasks over to Winston, but, uhhhh...
...so many Financial Tasks came in at once that I didn't need them at all. Ah well, some good luck for once.
Did you think we were done with Ashley's jabberjaw? THINK AGAIN.
I dunno what I was thinking here, but I sent Pearl over when she was still stressed from all the air conditioning and Water Cooler talks. Let's turn it off and calm her down, shall we?
There we go. Some extra Couch time as well as enough room in everyone's Stress meters to reach the end of the Day.
You might notice that I didn't finish Ashley's Goal with Nadine. That was on purpose. Remember it for Day 3, okie?
It's kinda humorous that the three being a bother this Episode are the ones who are getting all bent out of shape, for once.
Anyways, that was an entire Day without Coffee, Sodas, or Cinnabuns. That will not be the case tomorrow, Pearl, so prepare your headache meds.
It was basically inevitable that there'd be an Arcade Machine Goal to work towards, let's be real.
Now, then... today's gonna be crunch time. This is where the vast majority of runs of this Episode get messed up, and your success will largely depend on your preparations up until now. It's time to see if we did enough to scrape by.
Pictured: The Tower of Babble
The opener in particular is gonna be rough. We'll need to get Pearl's duties at the Water Cooler out of the way so Winston can go play, and quickly. Mahavir will be prepping a Morale Boost in the meantime.
'Kay then, this office is about to explode, so we need Mahavir back at his desk. That's close enough to completion that we can make good use of it, anyway.
Now that this first Morale Boost has taken effect, we can send Winston to the Arcade Machine, just in time. Just 7 or 8 Seconds longer, and we'd have been screwed.
We get Nadine's Goal done, too, earning ourselves yet another Morale Boost.
Next, we get Denise's Goal for yet another. See why we were saving all of those? We really need the office's Stress to be mostly reset aside from Pearl, and Ashley will be camping out in the Bathroom for the rest of the Day. It's just advanced Stress management.
In the process of grabbing another Morale Boost from Mahavir, I get to show off exactly how rough the Moodifiers are on Ashley this Episode, give or take some work and a smoker.
No Idle bonus, +2 from work, +3 each from the Couch and Arcade, +2 from Smoke... that's a solid +10 Moodifier right there, god.
Like I said, Ashley's gonna need to stay in there the whole time if she wants to survive the Day. Also, I went and got a Diet Soda and 4 Cinnabuns for upcoming reasons.
There we go, that's a bit less Stress Ashley will have to deal with. Now, about those Cinnabuns...
Mahavir wants four of them. Four of these gigantic whoppers of icing and cinnamon. Yeesh, it really is "Feed your bathroom scale" instead of whatever else he was going on about about a cold.
Required Goals? Invalid, ALL Goals are Required for our purposes
Oh right, try to keep at least one eye on the state of the Bathroom. If you forget to send Ashley back immediately, she might spiral out of control before she can reach it.
We don't wind up needing that Diet Soda due to the extra time we have, but hey, another case of better safe than sorry.
It's a good thing we got all of Nadine's stressors out of the way; Mahavir physically can't keep up with this amount of work, regardless of his Stress gained.
And there we have it. All in 3 Days, once again.
This took a number of practices in the 8-10 range, and 4 recording attempts. This was, without a doubt, the hardest Episode we've had since the finale of Season 2, and it's nice to see it picking up again.
Next time... well, it might be a bit short, but I'm sure it'll get the point across. See you then.
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
Art Tasks: 33.3%
Financial Tasks: 33.3%
Writing Tasks: 33.3%
- 1-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 9-12 Seconds: 50%
- 3-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 15-18 Seconds: 50%
2-Bar Tasks: 16.7%
3-Bar Tasks: 50%
4-Bar Tasks: 33.3%
"No food or drink for anybody for one day. (No Snacks/Drinks)" Unlocks Optional Goal #1
"Pearl wants Winston to quit goofing off and complete twenty-five tasks. (25 Tasks)" Unlocks Optional Goal #2
"No arcade play or sleeping for anyone for one day. (No Arcade/Couch)" Unlocks Optional Goal #3
"Take a nap on the sofa. (90 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goal #4- "Discuss shoes with Denise at the water cooler. (120 Seconds)"
- "Play the arcade to beat previous high score. (90 Seconds)"
- "Complain to Pearl at the water cooler about how awful men are. (60 Seconds)"
- "Take to Nadine at the water cooler about fashionable hair styles. (60 Seconds)"
- "Mahavir wants to boost his blood sugar and eat four cinnabuns. (4 Cinnabuns)"
Connecting...
Checking Status: Online
Chatroom Created
I've got good news for you. Everything's ready? All organized and accounted for... including the lack thereof. They finished just last night. Get that sent to me ASAP. I've been stuck in one place for far too long on this. Got it. So, what happens now? You get ready. Do what we discussed last time. All of it? Down to the last detail. Anything that can go wrong needs a way to be shut down here. I've seen enough of this mismanagement to last a lifetime. Ha, then I guess there's not much to worry about for now. Think I'll finally get to learn the plan? Maybe. Part of it, at least. One thing's for certain, though; after the performance I just witnessed, there's no doubt that Denise is ready. I'll be relying on you two going forward. 'Kay, then... I'll do what I can afterward, then. Whatever that is. That's all you need to do, no matter what I wind up doing. That enough of a guide for you? We'll see. ...though, will we need this thing anymore? This may be the last time we talk on here, yeah. Keep it open, at least; no use burning that bridge just yet. Okay. I'll see you soon, then? Yeah, just... well, you'll see. Until next time. Until then.Chatroom Closed.
As a bit of a heads up, school just started. On top of that, we're getting into the part of the game where the gameplay portions are much longer and more prone to errors that wreck a run. As a result, updates will be slower due to needing to find good times to record, on top of the gameplay updates just being really long to type in general.
Episode 24: Story Update
Video:
Well, then... last Episode was a headache and a half. And we're finally nearing the end of all this, too.
Let's just hope this will end this reign of terror at last.
Huh, the gang's all here for once. Not that they'll have much of a talking role in this one. Anyways, Pearl seems... on edge. Moreso than usual, anyway.
Oh! There you are, it's about time.
What? I didn't suggest that!
Oh, I know very well you didn't, but it's rather fortunate that it happened, isn't it?
You must have misunderstood.
But... well... in any case, it was very confusing.
Well, that seems to all but confirm what people in the thread have been calling since-
checks notes
...literally the first Episode of Season 4. Not very expertly hidden, I must say, Pearl.
Oh!
Pearl starts doing this kind of fidgeting throughout a lot of the rest of the conversation. She's nearly hyperventilating.
You're not as well-connected in C.A.I. as I am, of course.
Right... that must be it.
It doesn't matter!
Time left before what?
Before the deadline I've set for Project PEARL!
Well, whatever this supposed project is, apparently it does have a tangible end that work can achieve? That doesn't seem to line up with it being a simple "Get Denise fired" objective... hmmmm...
All of what?
All these lazy, no-good employees, not doing anything!
Okay, Pearl, we're all gonna need you to CHILL. Seriously. There's not even any Tasks on the desk yet.
Whatever! Obviously I can't expect anyone to care about this company but me.
On top of that being a very, very apropos line, there's a little freeze in the video right around here; this line gets mostly cut off in it. I didn't notice it, and I'm no video editor, so I can't exactly go and splice it, so here it is for those of you who watched the video and were confused.
Denise, I'm going to need to take care of a lot of Project PEARL's tasks myself, at least for now!
...excuse me?
Out of your hair?
Yes!! I don't want to hear any complaints, and you know how all this... slacking drives me crazy!
Wow, tell us how you really feel, eh?
And furthermore, I've put our budget problems to an end!
Wow, really!? We can spend money on snacks again? Everyone will be glad to hear that!
...Denise. Honey. No.
No, you spendthrift hussy!
What?! No snacks at all?
It's for your own good! All of you!
I'm, uh... wow. How's the view from your personal universe, Pearl?
But how... how are we supposed to get by without any snacks?
I don't know! You figure it out!
...
Now, have Winston and Nadine standing by, I might need them to follow-up on some of my initiatives.
Aye-aye...
At least they can get some work done occasionally!
And Mahavir, well you know... his condition makes it hard for him to work.
Denise, hush!
What, like the condition of reminding you of your son- okay now I kinda feel bad.
God! I need another cigarette.
"Again," huh? Oof...
Anyways, next time... next time, for those of you following the LobCorp thread, we begin Core Suppression. See you then, and you'd best be prepared.
Video:
Well, then... last Episode was a headache and a half. And we're finally nearing the end of all this, too.
Let's just hope this will end this reign of terror at last.
Huh, the gang's all here for once. Not that they'll have much of a talking role in this one. Anyways, Pearl seems... on edge. Moreso than usual, anyway.
Oh! There you are, it's about time. What? I didn't suggest that!Oh, I know very well you didn't, but it's rather fortunate that it happened, isn't it?
You must have misunderstood. But... well... in any case, it was very confusing.Well, that seems to all but confirm what people in the thread have been calling since-
...literally the first Episode of Season 4. Not very expertly hidden, I must say, Pearl.
Oh!Pearl starts doing this kind of fidgeting throughout a lot of the rest of the conversation. She's nearly hyperventilating.
You're not as well-connected in C.A.I. as I am, of course. Right... that must be it. It doesn't matter! Time left before what? Before the deadline I've set for Project PEARL!Well, whatever this supposed project is, apparently it does have a tangible end that work can achieve? That doesn't seem to line up with it being a simple "Get Denise fired" objective... hmmmm...
All of what? All these lazy, no-good employees, not doing anything!Okay, Pearl, we're all gonna need you to CHILL. Seriously. There's not even any Tasks on the desk yet.
Whatever! Obviously I can't expect anyone to care about this company but me.On top of that being a very, very apropos line, there's a little freeze in the video right around here; this line gets mostly cut off in it. I didn't notice it, and I'm no video editor, so I can't exactly go and splice it, so here it is for those of you who watched the video and were confused.
Denise, I'm going to need to take care of a lot of Project PEARL's tasks myself, at least for now!...excuse me?
Out of your hair? Yes!! I don't want to hear any complaints, and you know how all this... slacking drives me crazy!Wow, tell us how you really feel, eh?
And furthermore, I've put our budget problems to an end! Wow, really!? We can spend money on snacks again? Everyone will be glad to hear that!...Denise. Honey. No.
No, you spendthrift hussy! What?! No snacks at all? It's for your own good! All of you!I'm, uh... wow. How's the view from your personal universe, Pearl?
But how... how are we supposed to get by without any snacks? I don't know! You figure it out! ... Now, have Winston and Nadine standing by, I might need them to follow-up on some of my initiatives. Aye-aye... At least they can get some work done occasionally! And Mahavir, well you know... his condition makes it hard for him to work. Denise, hush!What, like the condition of reminding you of your son- okay now I kinda feel bad.
God! I need another cigarette."Again," huh? Oof...
Anyways, next time... next time, for those of you following the LobCorp thread, we begin Core Suppression. See you then, and you'd best be prepared.
Forgive me for this MS Paint fanart I am about to inflict.
Really, though, I've been thinking for a while now that Pearl has needed a few days reporting to X and Angela rather than Denise.
I'm also not convinced Pearl herself would be able to give you the same answer for what Project PEARL stands for given a half-hour between inquiries.
Spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation unless you're up to date on TeeQueue's thread.
Really, though, I've been thinking for a while now that Pearl has needed a few days reporting to X and Angela rather than Denise.
I'm also not convinced Pearl herself would be able to give you the same answer for what Project PEARL stands for given a half-hour between inquiries.
Is Pearl like...embezzling, or something?? She wants to reduce our spending, keeps upping the tasks, and is so desperate to get this stuff done that she's doing it herself. I really thought she was just trying to get Denise fired, and she definitely is, but something else is clearly going on. Also, why the fuck would Office Town listen when some crazy lady says not to sell to someone else? That's insane.
Either Pearl lied through her teeth and came up with some BS reason for them to not let her in the store (i.e. She's a shoplifter or something), or Pearl is lying through her teeth to Denise, who has proven herself naive enough to fall for Pearl's previous lies and bullying.
This is, honestly, amazing.Talisriel wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:44 amForgive me for this MS Paint fanart I am about to inflict.
Spoilers for Lobotomy Corporation unless you're up to date on TeeQueue's thread.
Really, though, I've been thinking for a while now that Pearl has needed a few days reporting to X and Angela rather than Denise.
I'm also not convinced Pearl herself would be able to give you the same answer for what Project PEARL stands for given a half-hour between inquiries.
"Spendthrift Hussy"???
I wonder if the Devs don't know the other meaning of the word, or did they intentionally have Pearl basically call Denise a slut in front of everyone else.
I wonder if the Devs don't know the other meaning of the word, or did they intentionally have Pearl basically call Denise a slut in front of everyone else.
I imagine Pearl being out of touch with modern language. Wishing someone to have a gay time, etc. However to be unaware about more common meaning of the word she should have lived in... 1800s, I believe?Robindaybird wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 3:57 pm"Spendthrift Hussy"???
I wonder if the Devs don't know the other meaning of the word, or did they intentionally have Pearl basically call Denise a slut in front of everyone else.
So wait, Denise has taken this long to call someone up top and verify that everything was on the level? No offense, but if I burst into my workplace and said that the higher-ups had authorized me to overhaul the place, I'm reasonably sure my manager would have her boss on the phone before I'd finished my second sentence.
Denise is soft-hearted to a fault, but I'm glad she finally got around to asking the higher-ups on what exactly was going on.Blastinus wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 6:14 pmSo wait, Denise has taken this long to call someone up top and verify that everything was on the level? No offense, but if I burst into my workplace and said that the higher-ups had authorized me to overhaul the place, I'm reasonably sure my manager would have her boss on the phone before I'd finished my second sentence.
And given everything else, I get a sense Denise was pretty much thrown with little to no training, I suspect in-world she's only been there for maybe... two months tops?
Episode 24: Gameplay Update, "Meltdown"
Video:
Ahhhh, Core Suppression day. I'm sure many of you were looking forward to this.
And we actually have an initial Goal list that would be pretty simple were it not for the suppression condition today, "No food or drink is purchasable." Do you have any idea how much Pearl's Task Goal is begging for a healthy supply of Coffee? Sure, we can still buy Training Manuals, but the time crunch doesn't even make them worth it, those things are at their best with a hot cup of liquid productivity doubling their bonuses.
Starting positions. I actually double-checked the code, and yes, Mahavir is in fact coded to always start the Day with 25 Stress, no matter what. Tara was similar, always starting at 35 Stress.
I bring this up because you might notice Pearl starts at 50 Stress every Day this Episode. Crunch time is upon her, and everything's compounding. Luckily, we were gonna send her to the Smoking Lounge anyway because of her Goal before the Tasks come in.
Oh right, I should also mention that Ashley no longer cares about Mahavir's naps. Nadine still does, though; that will never change.
Well, we have no Coffee, so the only way we're getting this done is to turn this place into a mill to feed Pearl nearly-complete Tasks. Sadly can't use Nadine right now because of Mahavir, but she'll be on board to help eventually.
Well, that's as good as we'll get it for a while. Let's see how this goes.
That's, uh... that's gonna be a problem without any Coffee.
One thing that I basically blocked out while playing the level myself is how incredibly close Denise comes to Burning Out here. And later. Basically I was kinda just running on what I knew should work, and if I somehow slipped up, that's a reset.
I was not kidding when I said we needed to become a production line for Pearl. This is intense, repetitive, and an exercise in not spacing out and clicking several places uselessly. ...which I did several times, so there's margin for error on this strategy, at least.
Mahavir coming in with a timely Morale Boost will help things, thankfully. We need to keep this up for the rest of the Day, still.
And now that we've gotten that nap out of the way, we can see that Winston and Ashley also need work to do. That'll be mostly tomorrow, though, since Pearl's will unlock something for us to complete.
Oh look, another time we can dangerously close to a reset. Beautiful to see how much peril I suppressed while just trying to get all this done. Like... WOW.
Well, we might not get too much done without Coffee, but let's see if we can get at least a few done...
Yeaaah, maybe I should've given a few of these to Winston. It'd save time later.
Well, that's that Goal taken care of. Fun fact, in the code, this was initially planned to be a Goal to keep anyone from reaching 75 Stress at all. I, for one, am very glad that this crime against game design didn't make it into the final version since there are absolutely no indicators of where on the meter 75 Stress is.
A timed Nadine Goal comes out of it, too. Imagine messing up that 75-Stress version and missing out on a Day's progress on this.
Especially since it's 130 Seconds of the AC, like OH MY GOD THAT'D SUCK SO BAD
Progress is being made, so let's get to it.
The AC goes on, and Pearl goes to the Lounge to await her Tasks being done by others.
This does mean that Ashley will need time in the Bathroom to deal with the Stress of working on Art Tasks while all this is happening, though, so stay alert.
Well, we funneled a LOT of them into Pearl and she's nearly Burned Out, but hey, Nadine's made sure it'll be over soon.
Finally. This would've gone faster if you'd just chilled out and drank the Coffee, Pearl.
Seems Nadine wants a smoke break, too. Who'd have guessed.
In case it wasn't obvious, these Tasks are basically Winston's life for the rest of today.
The occasional Art Task comes in to lessen the load of Tasks we'll need to chip down for Ashley tomorrow, at least.
That sure was a while of Task pipelining. ...look, it's a lot more engaging when you're playing it, I swear, there's only so many times I can say "And then we fed people their breakfast Tasks and Number Go Up" once we're in the eye of the storm that is this office's existence.
Pearl and Nadine's Goals happened to get done at the exact same time, so at least I can avoid even more screenshots I need to find a way to talk over.
Considering Nadine took the duty of requesting the AC today, you can guess what that is.
There's that notification. It's letting us know that tomorrow is gonna be a thing.
So. We need to have Winston finish 10 Tasks within 50 Seconds, minus the time it takes to walk back and forth. Not even Winston can do that without Coffee, so we'll need to do for him what we were inevitably gonna have to do for Ashley.
Progress. A precious thing, one that will escape our grasp if we aren't careful today.I'm definitely not salty about missing timed Goals by like 2 Seconds or missing 1 Task on a few separate runs.
A single 3-Bar Technical Task on Winston's desk is fine, I think. He can do that within a few Seconds, while the others will be chipped down enough to finish all at once.
Of course, we need to give these to Ashley, as well. It's gonna be a bit of a balancing act today, especially since Ashley DOES still dislike Winston on the Arcade Machine, hence why she's reaching her Stress State threshold despite work plus a smoker only being a +4 Moodifier on their own.
Oh boy, we're in peril again
PleasesaveusWinstonpleasehelp
To our rescue again, it seems. We'll just need to do that again.
Realized I don't think I got a picture of the Arcade bubble over Ashley's head. Here it is, she's still mad.
After some uneventful cleanup, we get Winston's Tasks done and I finally remember "Oh right, I lost a run before because I forgot Nadine needed to smoke like 9 more Seconds."
And there we go. Now to just get Ashley up to speed with the workload.
There's Winston finished, and in just a moment...
...Ashley as well. Phew.
I'll admit, the Goals weren't as stressful as a group than what we've faced earlier, but they provide a real time crunch when we can't speed up anyone's Work Rate or do any gambits with near-Burn Outs without any access to snacks.
Next time... we finally get some answers, and I may or may not ramble for a whileI definitely will. See you then.
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
Video:Ahhhh, Core Suppression day. I'm sure many of you were looking forward to this.
And we actually have an initial Goal list that would be pretty simple were it not for the suppression condition today, "No food or drink is purchasable." Do you have any idea how much Pearl's Task Goal is begging for a healthy supply of Coffee? Sure, we can still buy Training Manuals, but the time crunch doesn't even make them worth it, those things are at their best with a hot cup of liquid productivity doubling their bonuses.
Starting positions. I actually double-checked the code, and yes, Mahavir is in fact coded to always start the Day with 25 Stress, no matter what. Tara was similar, always starting at 35 Stress.
I bring this up because you might notice Pearl starts at 50 Stress every Day this Episode. Crunch time is upon her, and everything's compounding. Luckily, we were gonna send her to the Smoking Lounge anyway because of her Goal before the Tasks come in.
Oh right, I should also mention that Ashley no longer cares about Mahavir's naps. Nadine still does, though; that will never change.
Well, we have no Coffee, so the only way we're getting this done is to turn this place into a mill to feed Pearl nearly-complete Tasks. Sadly can't use Nadine right now because of Mahavir, but she'll be on board to help eventually.
Well, that's as good as we'll get it for a while. Let's see how this goes.
That's, uh... that's gonna be a problem without any Coffee.
One thing that I basically blocked out while playing the level myself is how incredibly close Denise comes to Burning Out here. And later. Basically I was kinda just running on what I knew should work, and if I somehow slipped up, that's a reset.
I was not kidding when I said we needed to become a production line for Pearl. This is intense, repetitive, and an exercise in not spacing out and clicking several places uselessly. ...which I did several times, so there's margin for error on this strategy, at least.
Mahavir coming in with a timely Morale Boost will help things, thankfully. We need to keep this up for the rest of the Day, still.
And now that we've gotten that nap out of the way, we can see that Winston and Ashley also need work to do. That'll be mostly tomorrow, though, since Pearl's will unlock something for us to complete.
Oh look, another time we can dangerously close to a reset. Beautiful to see how much peril I suppressed while just trying to get all this done. Like... WOW.
Well, we might not get too much done without Coffee, but let's see if we can get at least a few done...
Yeaaah, maybe I should've given a few of these to Winston. It'd save time later.
Well, that's that Goal taken care of. Fun fact, in the code, this was initially planned to be a Goal to keep anyone from reaching 75 Stress at all. I, for one, am very glad that this crime against game design didn't make it into the final version since there are absolutely no indicators of where on the meter 75 Stress is.
A timed Nadine Goal comes out of it, too. Imagine messing up that 75-Stress version and missing out on a Day's progress on this.
Especially since it's 130 Seconds of the AC, like OH MY GOD THAT'D SUCK SO BAD
Progress is being made, so let's get to it.
The AC goes on, and Pearl goes to the Lounge to await her Tasks being done by others.
This does mean that Ashley will need time in the Bathroom to deal with the Stress of working on Art Tasks while all this is happening, though, so stay alert.
Well, we funneled a LOT of them into Pearl and she's nearly Burned Out, but hey, Nadine's made sure it'll be over soon.
Finally. This would've gone faster if you'd just chilled out and drank the Coffee, Pearl.
Seems Nadine wants a smoke break, too. Who'd have guessed.
In case it wasn't obvious, these Tasks are basically Winston's life for the rest of today.
The occasional Art Task comes in to lessen the load of Tasks we'll need to chip down for Ashley tomorrow, at least.
That sure was a while of Task pipelining. ...look, it's a lot more engaging when you're playing it, I swear, there's only so many times I can say "And then we fed people their breakfast Tasks and Number Go Up" once we're in the eye of the storm that is this office's existence.
Pearl and Nadine's Goals happened to get done at the exact same time, so at least I can avoid even more screenshots I need to find a way to talk over.
Considering Nadine took the duty of requesting the AC today, you can guess what that is.
There's that notification. It's letting us know that tomorrow is gonna be a thing.
So. We need to have Winston finish 10 Tasks within 50 Seconds, minus the time it takes to walk back and forth. Not even Winston can do that without Coffee, so we'll need to do for him what we were inevitably gonna have to do for Ashley.
Progress. A precious thing, one that will escape our grasp if we aren't careful today.
A single 3-Bar Technical Task on Winston's desk is fine, I think. He can do that within a few Seconds, while the others will be chipped down enough to finish all at once.
Of course, we need to give these to Ashley, as well. It's gonna be a bit of a balancing act today, especially since Ashley DOES still dislike Winston on the Arcade Machine, hence why she's reaching her Stress State threshold despite work plus a smoker only being a +4 Moodifier on their own.
Oh boy, we're in peril again
PleasesaveusWinstonpleasehelp
To our rescue again, it seems. We'll just need to do that again.
Realized I don't think I got a picture of the Arcade bubble over Ashley's head. Here it is, she's still mad.
After some uneventful cleanup, we get Winston's Tasks done and I finally remember "Oh right, I lost a run before because I forgot Nadine needed to smoke like 9 more Seconds."
And there we go. Now to just get Ashley up to speed with the workload.
There's Winston finished, and in just a moment...
...Ashley as well. Phew.
I'll admit, the Goals weren't as stressful as a group than what we've faced earlier, but they provide a real time crunch when we can't speed up anyone's Work Rate or do any gambits with near-Burn Outs without any access to snacks.
Next time... we finally get some answers, and I may or may not ramble for a while
Goal Writeup
Time Per Day: 140 Seconds
Task Types
- Art Tasks: 25%
- Financial Tasks: 25%
Technical Tasks: 25%- Writing Tasks: 25%
- 1-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 6-9 Seconds: 33.3%
- 2-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 11-14 Seconds: 33.3%
- 3-Task Burst, Applies Delay of 8-11 Seconds: 33.3%
- 3-Bar Tasks: 50%
- 4-Bar Tasks: 50%
- "Make sure no one stresses out for one day. (No Burnout)" Unlocks Optional Goal #1
- "Demonstrate complete office mastery by completing thirty tasks. (30 Tasks)" Unlocks Optional Goal #3
- "Take a nap on the couch. (90 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goals #4 and #5
- "Take a smoke break in the lounge. (160 Seconds)" Unlocks Optional Goal #2
"Turn on the AC for a while. (130 Seconds)"- "Play the arcade machine to try for a new high score. (90 Seconds)"
- "Take a smoke break in the lounge. (90 Seconds)"
- "Pearl wants Ashley to complete fifteen tasks. (15 Tasks)"
- "Pearl wants Winston to complete twenty-five tasks. (25 Tasks)"
That's fine, she can leave after this shift. She's just being a huge liability right now.
Maybe she can take Nadine with her. I'd be fine with just Winston, Mahavir and Ashley.
Season 4 Finale Update
Video:
I am not kidding when I say if there's any Story video you should watch, it's this one.
I said at the start of all this that I wanted to let the writing speak for itself. This is one of the most notable of those times. As such, I'll be shutting up and letting the game do the talking until the end.
I think we've gotten through the worst of it... We've done most of the work that we had to do for your project.
Excuse me? Is there more? I mean, I don't really get it.
We've got to do it bigger, faster, better, more!
We don't even know what this project we're working on IS, or what our goals are! You haven't told me or anyone else anything except... except giving us all this work to do!
Look, missy! Project PEARL is what I say it is! That's why it's called Project PEARL!
That's true in more ways than one. Nobody at corporate approved this project, you just made it up.
Of course it exists!
It's all over my desk.
It's taking up half of our available hard drive space.
And... you're telling me this isn't even something we were supposed to be doing?
What? Of course it's something you're supposed to be doing.
But why, Pearl?!
...why?
Why are you doing this? Are you just trying to make us all miserable?!
What? No!
Because you've been just... just acting like...
What!
I've been at this company for four decades! And do they appreciate me? Do they respect me? No.
I had to... prove myself...
Wha... what?
Well... I couldn't just leave.
I'm just here because it pays the bills.
Seemed like a good career move... at the time.
Daddy said I had to get a job or he'd freeze my trust fund...
I do it all for the ladies!
Do you even know why you're here, Pearl? Why you're working so hard?
Yes. Yes, well. I see what you're all trying to tell me.
Wow. I never thought I'd see that day.
What?
Huh? Who... who is that?
She asked to be on speakerphone if... certain events took place.
Now, don't worry about Pearl. She'll be well taken care of. We have more important business to attend to.
What kind of business? I'm getting kind of sleepy again.
I've been monitoring your team, and I've decided it's time for a bit of corporate restructuring.
*click*
The... CEO?
What do you think she wants?
That, everyone, was among my personal favorite scenes in media. I'm sure there's a bit of nostalgia in there for me, sure, but I get chills thinking about this scene even today, particularly Pearl's final words. It's just... it's all wrapped up in a neat little bow, and finally gives us some answers for Pearl as a character.
Pearl, as you might gather, is the kind of person who's held down by several layers of mental blocks and employee guilt. She buys into the idea of hard work and loyalty being the things that take you far in the company wholesale, that it's going to happen eventually. Just one more year. Just one more performance review. Just work a bit harder, show a bit more initiative, and finally, I'll be respected and able to help the company grow after showing so much loyalty and drive to their cause.
That year never came. Pearl's been here for forty years, always waiting, working as hard as she can, keeping the rest of her team on task (overbearingly so, even), all to make sure that there's nothing, not a single thing that could possibly mess up her chances. And then Denise came. Fresh out of college, no job experience, ESPECIALLY no office experience, and what does C.A.I. do? They make her the Office Manager, straight away. This greenhorn, this young, new girl who doesn't even have a track record of success to explain it, has gained more ground in a day than Pearl has in her four decades of work for C.A.I.
That was it. That was the moment things changed. Pearl was no longer satisfied just falling in line and keeping the others in line, she needed to stand out. Everyone needed to improve. Nobody could be the one dragging their office down (except Mahavir, but I think we saw the more personal reasons for that). The office had to become the best they could possibly be, and fast. Better yet, if Denise is going to make things difficult, why don't we get the boss involved? Surely, the team would improve under him, or at least he would see how hard Pearl was working to get them there, and if Denise were booted out along the way, all the better. But no. Instead, she got a middle manager whose incompetence was so baffling that she had to buckle down and hope the whole mess would blow over, with Denise's help.
Well, if the management couldn't be trusted to be a source of clout or improvement, and she couldn't reach any higher up the rungs, there was only one thing left for Pearl to do, in her eyes: make a power play, improve productivity tenfold, and get the people in charge to finally notice her work, taking credit for it all under the name of Project PEARL. This time, for sure... there could be no failures. She even brought in workloads from who-knows-where so their numbers would look amazing, even as the others in the office slowly degraded under her orders and the abrasive, malicious personality of the cross-trained employee of her dreams she had brought in. Everything was perfect. Surely, now, they'd have to have made strides toward reaching the top.
And yet, the world of C.A.I. refused to change. All she gained was a stressed, miserable crew of coworkers, and not even keeping a positive flow of petty cash, something the higher-ups at C.A.I. do happen to take notice of (we'll learn more about this later), could get them to pay an ounce of attention to the lower rungs. At this point, Pearl's dug in too deep. Her only plan left is to keep pressing on, but doing it better. That's where everything comes to a screeching halt and brings us to what happened above.
While we've seen plenty to indicate why Pearl wasn't promoted in the time we've known her, we don't know if this was the first method she tried. She could've been legitimately doing her best when she was younger, and may have been even better at Tasks than she is now. I'd be more than willing to believe that she was more impressive back in the day. However, that was then, and this is now. She was trapped by the mindset of going places in time. I know a coworker of mine in retail, and lemme tell you, she never planned to be in that career for 17 years. She certainly never planned to get shoved into the furniture section while being promised it was only temporary and that she wouldn't have to lift the stuff since she's older and that'd be a problem. Guess how that's going? She's been in there 4 years and she's strained her back at least once while I've been there, a mere 1 and a half years, because she has to lift stuff.
Something that coworker understands that Pearl didn't seem to get until now is that the big corporation doesn't give a damn about you. You're a pawn in the system and the people up top failed upwards. It doesn't matter what you do, they'll work you to the bone as long as you're useful and if they see high numbers, they'll demand them at all times just because you did it once.
All that was a really long way of saying that what Pearl was doing was genuine, with a side of hoping Denise would get fired or demoted along the way. That doesn't mean she's a good person in the slightest, to be clear. She can be genuine while still genuinely being a horrific, unempathetic micromanager. I don't like Pearl as a person, but I love her as a character, and I hope I've explained why clearly. The scene is also probably the best example I have of not even needing to change the music to set a mood properly, and I give it major props for that.
Now... with all that out of the way, it seems we've got a surprise from Brooke Conkling waiting for us when we get to the executive suite. See you then~
Connecting...
Checking Status: Do Not Disturb
Chatroom Created
What was that? What the heck is the plan supposed to be when you're dragging us all up there?
Would you give me an answer about this for once?! I'd like to think I knew you better than this, but that was completely out of left field! I mean, I knew you would need Denise's help with something, but the whole team? I didn't even expect Denise to truly get dragged out of our office, let alone the rest of us!
Look. I don't even know if you can see this, but please; if I'm going to do anything about this, I need to know SOMETHING.
It's really gonna be like that, huh. Great. This is why you asked me to just do what I do best, huh? Fine, then. We'll see to that. I expect some answers later, and I don't expect you'll be available for a coffee until this is all over. See you up there, then.
User "Blue" Disconnected
...thank you. And I'm sorry.
Chatroom Closed
Video: I am not kidding when I say if there's any Story video you should watch, it's this one. I said at the start of all this that I wanted to let the writing speak for itself. This is one of the most notable of those times. As such, I'll be shutting up and letting the game do the talking until the end.
I think we've gotten through the worst of it... We've done most of the work that we had to do for your project. Excuse me? Is there more? I mean, I don't really get it. We've got to do it bigger, faster, better, more! We don't even know what this project we're working on IS, or what our goals are! You haven't told me or anyone else anything except... except giving us all this work to do! Look, missy! Project PEARL is what I say it is! That's why it's called Project PEARL! That's true in more ways than one. Nobody at corporate approved this project, you just made it up. Of course it exists! It's all over my desk. It's taking up half of our available hard drive space. And... you're telling me this isn't even something we were supposed to be doing? What? Of course it's something you're supposed to be doing. But why, Pearl?! ...why? Why are you doing this? Are you just trying to make us all miserable?! What? No! Because you've been just... just acting like... What! I've been at this company for four decades! And do they appreciate me? Do they respect me? No. I had to... prove myself... Wha... what? Well... I couldn't just leave. I'm just here because it pays the bills. Seemed like a good career move... at the time. Daddy said I had to get a job or he'd freeze my trust fund... I do it all for the ladies! Do you even know why you're here, Pearl? Why you're working so hard? Yes. Yes, well. I see what you're all trying to tell me. Wow. I never thought I'd see that day. What? Huh? Who... who is that? She asked to be on speakerphone if... certain events took place. Now, don't worry about Pearl. She'll be well taken care of. We have more important business to attend to. What kind of business? I'm getting kind of sleepy again. I've been monitoring your team, and I've decided it's time for a bit of corporate restructuring. *click* The... CEO? What do you think she wants?That, everyone, was among my personal favorite scenes in media. I'm sure there's a bit of nostalgia in there for me, sure, but I get chills thinking about this scene even today, particularly Pearl's final words. It's just... it's all wrapped up in a neat little bow, and finally gives us some answers for Pearl as a character.
Pearl, as you might gather, is the kind of person who's held down by several layers of mental blocks and employee guilt. She buys into the idea of hard work and loyalty being the things that take you far in the company wholesale, that it's going to happen eventually. Just one more year. Just one more performance review. Just work a bit harder, show a bit more initiative, and finally, I'll be respected and able to help the company grow after showing so much loyalty and drive to their cause.
That year never came. Pearl's been here for forty years, always waiting, working as hard as she can, keeping the rest of her team on task (overbearingly so, even), all to make sure that there's nothing, not a single thing that could possibly mess up her chances. And then Denise came. Fresh out of college, no job experience, ESPECIALLY no office experience, and what does C.A.I. do? They make her the Office Manager, straight away. This greenhorn, this young, new girl who doesn't even have a track record of success to explain it, has gained more ground in a day than Pearl has in her four decades of work for C.A.I.
That was it. That was the moment things changed. Pearl was no longer satisfied just falling in line and keeping the others in line, she needed to stand out. Everyone needed to improve. Nobody could be the one dragging their office down (except Mahavir, but I think we saw the more personal reasons for that). The office had to become the best they could possibly be, and fast. Better yet, if Denise is going to make things difficult, why don't we get the boss involved? Surely, the team would improve under him, or at least he would see how hard Pearl was working to get them there, and if Denise were booted out along the way, all the better. But no. Instead, she got a middle manager whose incompetence was so baffling that she had to buckle down and hope the whole mess would blow over, with Denise's help.
Well, if the management couldn't be trusted to be a source of clout or improvement, and she couldn't reach any higher up the rungs, there was only one thing left for Pearl to do, in her eyes: make a power play, improve productivity tenfold, and get the people in charge to finally notice her work, taking credit for it all under the name of Project PEARL. This time, for sure... there could be no failures. She even brought in workloads from who-knows-where so their numbers would look amazing, even as the others in the office slowly degraded under her orders and the abrasive, malicious personality of the cross-trained employee of her dreams she had brought in. Everything was perfect. Surely, now, they'd have to have made strides toward reaching the top.
And yet, the world of C.A.I. refused to change. All she gained was a stressed, miserable crew of coworkers, and not even keeping a positive flow of petty cash, something the higher-ups at C.A.I. do happen to take notice of (we'll learn more about this later), could get them to pay an ounce of attention to the lower rungs. At this point, Pearl's dug in too deep. Her only plan left is to keep pressing on, but doing it better. That's where everything comes to a screeching halt and brings us to what happened above.
While we've seen plenty to indicate why Pearl wasn't promoted in the time we've known her, we don't know if this was the first method she tried. She could've been legitimately doing her best when she was younger, and may have been even better at Tasks than she is now. I'd be more than willing to believe that she was more impressive back in the day. However, that was then, and this is now. She was trapped by the mindset of going places in time. I know a coworker of mine in retail, and lemme tell you, she never planned to be in that career for 17 years. She certainly never planned to get shoved into the furniture section while being promised it was only temporary and that she wouldn't have to lift the stuff since she's older and that'd be a problem. Guess how that's going? She's been in there 4 years and she's strained her back at least once while I've been there, a mere 1 and a half years, because she has to lift stuff.
Something that coworker understands that Pearl didn't seem to get until now is that the big corporation doesn't give a damn about you. You're a pawn in the system and the people up top failed upwards. It doesn't matter what you do, they'll work you to the bone as long as you're useful and if they see high numbers, they'll demand them at all times just because you did it once.
All that was a really long way of saying that what Pearl was doing was genuine, with a side of hoping Denise would get fired or demoted along the way. That doesn't mean she's a good person in the slightest, to be clear. She can be genuine while still genuinely being a horrific, unempathetic micromanager. I don't like Pearl as a person, but I love her as a character, and I hope I've explained why clearly. The scene is also probably the best example I have of not even needing to change the music to set a mood properly, and I give it major props for that.
Now... with all that out of the way, it seems we've got a surprise from Brooke Conkling waiting for us when we get to the executive suite. See you then~
Connecting...
Checking Status: Do Not Disturb
Chatroom Created
What was that? What the heck is the plan supposed to be when you're dragging us all up there? Would you give me an answer about this for once?! I'd like to think I knew you better than this, but that was completely out of left field! I mean, I knew you would need Denise's help with something, but the whole team? I didn't even expect Denise to truly get dragged out of our office, let alone the rest of us! Look. I don't even know if you can see this, but please; if I'm going to do anything about this, I need to know SOMETHING. It's really gonna be like that, huh. Great. This is why you asked me to just do what I do best, huh? Fine, then. We'll see to that. I expect some answers later, and I don't expect you'll be available for a coffee until this is all over. See you up there, then.User "Blue" Disconnected
...thank you. And I'm sorry.Chatroom Closed
Since Brooke is almost certainly the black woman from the cover, she's definitely not old enough to be Winston's mother. But sister? Maybe! His hair could definitely be interpreted as short dreadlocks.
Also, ding dong the witch is dead.
I get what you mean about Pearl, LPFinale...it's what I was saying when she was first introduced. But her total lack of concern and empathy for others really eroded any sympathy I had for her. I don't think she was ever a nice person; a less bitter one certainly, but never someone who really tried to understand and care about others.Yeah, that's a stance that's more than reasonable to take. All I was hoping for on this was understanding what I meant. Going into this, I had plenty of time to understand that this wasn't gonna fly with everyone. Thankfully, just getting Pearl out of the picture satisfies the people who rightfully have nothing left to feel for her, I think.yamiaainferno wrote: ↑Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:57 amAlso, ding dong the witch is dead.
To be honest, the discourse has gone better than I expected after watching the thread's reaction to Season 4. I was prepared to have every response just be glad that Pearl is gone. But with the way things have gone, it's been mixed, which opens up the possibility for further discussion and analysis. It's everything I could've hoped for and more, and it feels wonderful to have finally reached this point and seen this all unfold so well.
Sympathy for the Devil.
I feel why Pearl is the way she is. No one has ever taken her aside and explained what she would need to do to advance in C.A.I., and that is a horrible thing. It happens in small companies where there aren't a lot of positions and there isn't much turnover, so no, there is no way to advance. But in large companies like C.A.I., it's neglect because they can, and why bother with the effort when you can get by on just throwing a large number of people at the wall and seeing who sticks? Never mind all the bodies, and never mind the trauma and brain-damage to the ones who survive.
However, Pearl hasn't ever stepped back to ask the questions she needed to ask, about how to get where she wants to go, or even if it's worth getting higher up in the company. Instead, she took it out on everyone else.
And that is not okay.
But that's the greater horror of large companies like C.A.I. Pearl is a symptom of a system that doesn't care. Pearl's behavior has caused high turnover and low morale, but for the most part, that hasn't been shown how that affects the company bottom line, so
I feel why Pearl is the way she is. No one has ever taken her aside and explained what she would need to do to advance in C.A.I., and that is a horrible thing. It happens in small companies where there aren't a lot of positions and there isn't much turnover, so no, there is no way to advance. But in large companies like C.A.I., it's neglect because they can, and why bother with the effort when you can get by on just throwing a large number of people at the wall and seeing who sticks? Never mind all the bodies, and never mind the trauma and brain-damage to the ones who survive.
However, Pearl hasn't ever stepped back to ask the questions she needed to ask, about how to get where she wants to go, or even if it's worth getting higher up in the company. Instead, she took it out on everyone else.
And that is not okay.
But that's the greater horror of large companies like C.A.I. Pearl is a symptom of a system that doesn't care. Pearl's behavior has caused high turnover and low morale, but for the most part, that hasn't been shown how that affects the company bottom line, so
Episode 25: Story Update
Video:
Alright then. Here we are. Finally moving up in the world, and finally getting Pearl to leave this place... for both our own sake and hers.
And if this title doesn't tip you off to what sort of fresh hell we're about to be thrown into on the difficulty spectrum, I don't know how to explain it better than to show it off in the Gameplay post.
Hell, this place is demanding 4 Days from us to 3-Star it; remember that Episode 23 ratcheted the stakes up to 5 Days for the average Episode. And this Episode's not some breezy introduction, either, it goes in. ...well, I suppose by COMPARISON it's a breezy introduction, but, uh... well, I guess that puts things in perspective, huh?
Let's just hurry up and meet our final team member, shall we?
Everyone steps off the elevator but Winston. Seems he was already here. Hmmmmm...
Wow... this place is swank!
It's not as nice as Daddy's boardroom, but I suppose it's better than that last dump!
Gonna have to side with Mahavir on this one, this place really goes all-out on the aesthetics. Actually manages to make the C.A.I. logo look tasteful, unlike the new carpeting Pearl put in at our old officespace. And that juicy shade of orange... mwah, chef's kiss on that one!
The CEO is... your sister?
So yeah, a certain someone's little
theory was correct. ...well, partially, we'll get to that.
It's a long story.
Not that long.
Glad to see you can pick up the comedic slack when Winston needs to handle more serious narrative matters, big guy.
She inherited the company from her husband, Alex Conkling Jr.
That's the thing that makes the theory only partially correct; Brooke married into the name, so we don't actually know what Winston's last name is. Still siblings, though, so props for that one!
Ah right, she can mostly hear us from there. Side note, she's been running on that Treadmill this entire time. No bonus prizes for guessing her relaxation point.
She really pumps it. Doesn't even put down her stuffeven if it's just because of how the Treadmill animates an Employee's sprite, but still.
Come on over here and bring your friends.
Something. Something about this line gets me. Like it has that intense older sibling energy where they can squeeze in a light jab at you in good fun. Did I mention I really, really like this game's writing?
I can't seem to concentrate unless I get enough exercise time in!
Oh... no, that's fine!
Hmmph.
...Nadine? What now?
I'll get right to the point.
But I had to fire them. They weren't performing up to my standards, and it's easier for me to do things myself anyway.
Hmm, where have I heard that before?
It's kind of amazing the CEO is the kind of person who'd rather get involved with the work rather than the kind who'd let everyone else do it and then be the face of the company, getting all the glory in the public's eyes. Lucky us, I suppose. ...maybe.
I've been handling everything here just fine, but my therapist says I should reduce my stress more and... delegate.
Why do I get the distinct feeling that you're not handling things just fine, at least from a Stress perspective? The work perspective is more than okay, considering... well, have you glanced at her desk yet? Might want to. It's quite the sight.
Yes, Winston! Don't think I can't handle it!
Oh, God no... I don't think I can bear to look at the state of the fileserver here...
Does it run in the family?
Insert additional compliments about previous points of the writing like the energy and the humor here
A couple other things. I know there are a lot of nice things in this office...
Yeah! A stereo system, air conditioning, all the amenities! I'm going to enjoy it here!
You don't care about either of those, but thanks for pointing out a special little perk to this particular office layout.
Paradise... lost!
Don't tell me you seriously thought we'd be able to avoid having a Stress Sink Employee, Mahavir. They're a fundamental aspect of the game's design at this point!
But we need to get work done. Too many distractions are no good!
Yeah, they... kind of do. Keep that in mind~
Don't worry, Ms. Conkling! I'm sure we can get everything done on schedule, and I know how to keep the team on task... Right, Mahavir?
Oh yes, that reminds me... Denise, right? You'll need to run to the store for choco-cafficinos.
...hahaahhahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
I drank three this morning, and...
Oh! What is it?!
The more informal descriptions of the Employees in the game's code refer to Brooke as "overworked." I don't need to explain how that'll manifest itself, considering the above statement.
And so do the rest of you!
Character development time?
Yes?
I know we didn't really get off on the right foot, and that you're a friend of Pearl's, but...
...ah.
Excuse me?
Nadine was Pearl's Luke, in a way. Seems the one of the pair who left has been reversed, though.
Oh! Well I thought maybe you and I could...
I'm not really interested in being friends, Denise. I'm here for a reason: my career.
...okay, fair enough.
And I'll tell you something: that Conkling woman has no idea what she's doing!
Less fair enough.
You win a digital cookie if you guess how annoying that's gonna be.
Hmph, using the office as her own personal exercise space.
Especially that part.
No kidding, Denise. No kidding indeed.
So... say hello to our endgame team! We've got a long way to go with them, and they've got quite a few bones to pick with each other, but here's to a long and storied adventure in the executive suite!
Next time, we tackle the easiest of Season 5's offerings. "Easiest" is the most damn relative term you'll ever hear up here. See you then.
Video:
Alright then. Here we are. Finally moving up in the world, and finally getting Pearl to leave this place... for both our own sake and hers.
And if this title doesn't tip you off to what sort of fresh hell we're about to be thrown into on the difficulty spectrum, I don't know how to explain it better than to show it off in the Gameplay post.
Hell, this place is demanding 4 Days from us to 3-Star it; remember that Episode 23 ratcheted the stakes up to 5 Days for the average Episode. And this Episode's not some breezy introduction, either, it goes in. ...well, I suppose by COMPARISON it's a breezy introduction, but, uh... well, I guess that puts things in perspective, huh?
Let's just hurry up and meet our final team member, shall we?
Everyone steps off the elevator but Winston. Seems he was already here. Hmmmmm...
Wow... this place is swank! It's not as nice as Daddy's boardroom, but I suppose it's better than that last dump!Gonna have to side with Mahavir on this one, this place really goes all-out on the aesthetics. Actually manages to make the C.A.I. logo look tasteful, unlike the new carpeting Pearl put in at our old officespace. And that juicy shade of orange... mwah, chef's kiss on that one!
The CEO is... your sister?So yeah, a certain someone's little
theory was correct. ...well, partially, we'll get to that. It's a long story. Not that long.Glad to see you can pick up the comedic slack when Winston needs to handle more serious narrative matters, big guy.
She inherited the company from her husband, Alex Conkling Jr.That's the thing that makes the theory only partially correct; Brooke married into the name, so we don't actually know what Winston's last name is. Still siblings, though, so props for that one!
Ah right, she can mostly hear us from there. Side note, she's been running on that Treadmill this entire time. No bonus prizes for guessing her relaxation point.
She really pumps it. Doesn't even put down her stuff
Come on over here and bring your friends.Something. Something about this line gets me. Like it has that intense older sibling energy where they can squeeze in a light jab at you in good fun. Did I mention I really, really like this game's writing?
I can't seem to concentrate unless I get enough exercise time in! Oh... no, that's fine! Hmmph....Nadine? What now?
I'll get right to the point. But I had to fire them. They weren't performing up to my standards, and it's easier for me to do things myself anyway. Hmm, where have I heard that before?It's kind of amazing the CEO is the kind of person who'd rather get involved with the work rather than the kind who'd let everyone else do it and then be the face of the company, getting all the glory in the public's eyes. Lucky us, I suppose. ...maybe.
I've been handling everything here just fine, but my therapist says I should reduce my stress more and... delegate.Why do I get the distinct feeling that you're not handling things just fine, at least from a Stress perspective? The work perspective is more than okay, considering... well, have you glanced at her desk yet? Might want to. It's quite the sight.
Yes, Winston! Don't think I can't handle it! Oh, God no... I don't think I can bear to look at the state of the fileserver here... Does it run in the family?Insert additional compliments about previous points of the writing like the energy and the humor here
A couple other things. I know there are a lot of nice things in this office... Yeah! A stereo system, air conditioning, all the amenities! I'm going to enjoy it here!You don't care about either of those, but thanks for pointing out a special little perk to this particular office layout.
Paradise... lost!Don't tell me you seriously thought we'd be able to avoid having a Stress Sink Employee, Mahavir. They're a fundamental aspect of the game's design at this point!
But we need to get work done. Too many distractions are no good!Yeah, they... kind of do. Keep that in mind~
Don't worry, Ms. Conkling! I'm sure we can get everything done on schedule, and I know how to keep the team on task... Right, Mahavir? Oh yes, that reminds me... Denise, right? You'll need to run to the store for choco-cafficinos....hahaahhahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
I drank three this morning, and... Oh! What is it?!The more informal descriptions of the Employees in the game's code refer to Brooke as "overworked." I don't need to explain how that'll manifest itself, considering the above statement.
And so do the rest of you!Character development time?
Yes? I know we didn't really get off on the right foot, and that you're a friend of Pearl's, but......ah.
Excuse me?Nadine was Pearl's Luke, in a way. Seems the one of the pair who left has been reversed, though.
Oh! Well I thought maybe you and I could... I'm not really interested in being friends, Denise. I'm here for a reason: my career....okay, fair enough.
And I'll tell you something: that Conkling woman has no idea what she's doing!Less fair enough.
You win a digital cookie if you guess how annoying that's gonna be.
Hmph, using the office as her own personal exercise space.Especially that part.
No kidding, Denise. No kidding indeed.
So... say hello to our endgame team! We've got a long way to go with them, and they've got quite a few bones to pick with each other, but here's to a long and storied adventure in the executive suite!
Next time, we tackle the easiest of Season 5's offerings. "Easiest" is the most damn relative term you'll ever hear up here. See you then.